Acorn Catalog vs ChapterPals
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Acorn Catalog
Access public library resources across Connecticut. Search the catalog, place holds, manage checked-out items, and renew borrowed materials. Requires a library card from a Bibliomation member library.
- Search library catalog
- Place holds on items
- Review checked-out items
- Renew borrowed materials
- Access 63 public libraries
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With Acorn Catalog, you have access to sixty-three public libraries across Connecticut. To use this app, you must have a library card with a Bibliomation member library and know your password. If you do not know your password, please contact your local library. Acorn Catalog lets you: * Search the catalog * Place a hold * Review the items you have checked out * Renew items Problem? Send email to kenstir.apps@gmail.com. Crash? Report it. This software is open source! If you have the means and the interest to contribute, visit https://github.com/kenstir/hemlock
ChapterPals
This app helps you track your reading progress and manage your book club. Organize your reading lists, log progress, and discover new books. It also facilitates book club discussions, voting on the next read, and tracking member progress.
- Track reading progress by page or percent
- Organize books into custom shelves
- Set and track reading goals
- Create and manage book clubs
- Vote on next book selections
- Chapter-based discussion threads
- Daily 'Guess the Book' puzzle
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Track every book you read, and keep your book club actually running. ChapterPals does both in one calm, friendly place. Most reading apps track books alone. Most club tools are a group text that slowly goes quiet. ChapterPals puts the two together, so the book you are reading and the people you are reading it with live side by side. TRACK YOUR READING Shelves for what you are reading, what you finished, and what you want to read next, plus custom shelves for anything else you want to keep. Log your progress by page or percent, rate books when you finish, and write reviews you will actually want to reread later. Set a reading goal and watch it fill in over the year. Already have a list somewhere else? Import it and pick up where you left off. Point your camera at a real bookshelf and ChapterPals will read the spines and find the titles, or scan a barcode to add a single book fast. Browse by genre, follow an author, or see a whole series in order. RUN YOUR BOOK CLUB Start a club in under a minute, or join one with an invite code from a friend. You can also browse public clubs by city, filter for in person or virtual, and search by the vibes you are after. Pick the next book together with a vote, so nobody has to be the one who decides. Set the night and the place, let everyone RSVP going, maybe or cannot make it, and add it to your calendar in a tap. See how far along everyone is, so nobody arrives half a book behind. Discussion threads stay organized by chapter, so you can talk about what you have read without spoiling what you have not. Stuck for something to say? Starter questions are ready when you need them. Every book your club has read together is kept as a history you can look back on. READ WITH FRIENDS Add pals and see what they are reading right now. Share a shelf, recommend a book straight to someone, and get a nudge when a friend finishes something you have been eyeing. AND A LITTLE FUN Guess the Book is a new puzzle every day. A blurred cover, five tries, and a fresh clue with every guess. Build a streak and compare notes with your club. Tier boards let you rank everything you have read exactly how you want, then share the result. ChapterPals is free to use, works on your phone and in your browser, and never sells your reading history. Reading is better with friends.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: ChapterPals at 5.0 against Acorn Catalog's 3.3. ChapterPals also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 67%) and update cadence (every 2 days vs every 5 months). Acorn Catalog's advantage is ratings volume (14 vs 2). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
ChapterPals holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Acorn Catalog has 14 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 67% of Acorn Catalog's written reviews are positive against 100% of ChapterPals's.
Acorn Catalog ships an update every 5 months, ChapterPals every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on September 20, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Acorn Catalog | ChapterPals |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.3 (14 ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 66.7% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 14 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Every 2 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 15.5 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 11 MB | 55 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 9+ |
| Developer | Bibliomation, Inc. | Edward Buchholz |
Customer experience
Acorn Catalog
ChapterPals
In-app purchases
Acorn Catalog
No in-app purchases
ChapterPals
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Acorn Catalog free?
Is ChapterPals free?
Which has better reviews, Acorn Catalog or ChapterPals?
Do Acorn Catalog or ChapterPals have ads?
Which is updated more often, Acorn Catalog or ChapterPals?
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